The Academy
by Sidney Ella Ford
Summary: Vulture Academy is the most prestigeous and sought after school in the country. The rural area that houses a mere six hundred students is the home to mysterious people and their secrets. Rated for language and insinuated violence. AH/AU/R
1. Introductions

**I know, I know, ANOTHER ONE. Yes, I do feel the need to write incessantly and then forget to update. Sorry about that. I don't own Twilight, and yes, this has been done, but I'm hoping mine can establish it's own personality against the other bunch of them. Reviews please. **

"Rowan Hall is north," my brother said, pointing at the school map, placed strategically at the corner where our parents dropped us, before finding a parking place from which they would haul the rest of our luggage all the way to our co-ed sophomore dorm.

I faced a direction automatically, then turned one-hundred-and-eighty degrees, realizing -in the exact same instant as my brother- that I was facing the wrong way. We shared a laugh before he tapped my forehead playfully.

"Wrong way, Alice," he said, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, sis."

Edward grabbed my hand and tugged me along, leading me like a child through the throngs of students and teachers and parents and faculty… Open house at Vulture Academy (creepy name, pretty awesome school) was a madhouse. We made it to our dorm building -a small, castle-like building that would be housing a mere fifty of the nearly six-hundred students (all sophomores, as the high school students were housed by single grades instead of double for underclassmen and -shudder- triple for the Kindergarten, first, and second grade) attending the K12 academy- and had to go different ways when we realized he was on the first floor and I the fourth.

"Good luck, Al," he said, squeezing my hand before letting it go. "Dad's got your stuff and Mom has mine. We're all meeting up in half an hour."

"Got it, Ed. Love you, big brother."

He smiled and swiftly kissed my cheek. "Love you, baby sister."

We parted ways, then I was all alone. I made it up to my suite, 413, and found two other girls inside. I walked to the untouched bed in the center of the room, under a large window -which, luckily, would have been my first choice anyhow- and dropped my bag, then turned and smiled brightly. "Hi! I'm Alice!"

The leggy blonde at the bed to my right turned, gave me a once over, then broke into a smile. "And why didn't you tell me you were rooming with me, bitch?"

I burst into laughter, rushing my old friend. "Maybe because I haven't seen you in, like, ten years, Rosie?"

Rosalie smirked. "Try two, and my parents were trying the whole 'home raised beauty pageant doll' thing with me. Obviously it didn't work. I think they might have been trying to show some kind of 'love' for me, but you know how that goes."

I suddenly remembered the other girl and pulled away from Rose, turning to greet her. "Hi! What's your name?"

The brunette -a size somewhere between my petite-to-the-extreme and Rose's Victoria's Secret model worthy height- gave a little smile. "I'm Bella."

"Bella and I attended summer session together," Rose said, winding an arm around my waist. "Alice and I were roommates in the Jr. High dorms across campus for fifth, sixth, and seventh grades."

The brunette reached out and shook my offered hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Is Eddie-boy here?" Rose asked, getting a familiar devious look in her eyes.

"Yes he is," came the tenor voice of said-brother from the door. "Al, Mom and Dad are waiting for the elevator and told me to tell you to get your tiny ass down there and help with your shoe bag."

I crossed my arms and smirked at him. "I highly doubt Mother _or_ Daddy said 'tiny ass' in any universe."

"I may have embellished, miss I-must-have-every-color-of-Mary-Janes-in-existence," he jabbed, making Rose and Bella giggle. "Hey, Rose."

"Hey, Ed," Rose laughed, grinning flirtatiously. Lord, her ever-present crush was back at full force.

He gave his own little smirk that would have been sexy if he wasn't my brother (ew to the extreme) and I didn't know he slept in Star Wars sheets at home, and talked LOUDLY in his sleep to Leia. God, was I thankful we'd outgrown our once shared bunk beds and upgraded to separate rooms… "Hurry it up, Al."

Rosalie shamelessly stared at his backside as he left our doorway. "If he wasn't your brother I'd _hate_ you. God, he's _damn_ sexy…"

I burst into laughter, leaving Rose to her thoughts (and ever dirty mouth) and Bella to the insanity that was my best female friend. Well, my best friend, aside from Edward, but Edward and I were never just best friends. We were brother and sister, even in the beginning…

"We caught the elevator," my father said, appearing suddenly. "You, young lady, have far too many shoes."

"So brother-dearest says," I said, chuckling. "I can carry something."

"No, I made it this far. I'm fit, I'm healthy, I'll only need a little CPR after this," he joked, following me to my suite. He dropped my things on my bed -which already had my purse on it- and then wrapped me into a hug. "It's a good thing I love you, silly girl."

I grinned, hugging him back. "I love you, too, Daddy."

"Let's go grab something to eat before we say our goodbyes," he suggested.

Later that evening, after saying goodbye to our parents, Edward and I went to our respective rooms. It wasn't a tearful goodbye for us. We lived an hour away from our hometown. Mother and Daddy simply wanted the best education for their babies, and Vulture Academy was it.

"Night, sis," he said, hugging me hugely and swaying in that annoying way that makes me nauseous.

"Night, bro," I said, grabbing the hairs at the base of his neck (his weakness) to make him let me go.

I went back to my room and dressed for bed, then sat down on my bed. I took a few minutes to look around and appreciate my sophomore suite. We had our own private bathroom (having three people in a room instead of one or two gave us that benefit), a large closet that had plenty of room for all of our shoes and hanging clothing (and it didn't hurt that we shared _some_ sizes of things, despite our height differences), a dresser with six drawers (two for each of us), two nightstands placed strategically between our beds, and three desks (a basic one from the school -Rose's, because she didn't even _want_ a desk-, one from Bella's dad, and one from my parents). The upperclassmen dorms were also wired for wireless internet (a perk of being in the high school rooms), which was awesome, considering the library and wi-fi café had a tendency to get packed with Jr. High kids. I admit, my taste was above and beyond that of the designers of the room, but it would do. My room at home had nothing on the size of the suite (the bedroom/living area was as large as our cinema room at home), but the homey feel wasn't quite there yet. A few trips to the town half an hour away could fix that, though. Some pink curtains, an area rug or two, and a funky -in a good way- shower curtain that _wasn't _transparent (we might have to actually be the room at the same time once or twice, and despite the fact that we're all female, who _really_ wants to see that?).

I flopped onto my back and stared at the ceiling, then grabbed my phone from the bedside table and put it next to my head on my pillow. I changed my mind and picked it up, flipping it open to see my wallpaper -a picture of my family on a roller coaster, all crowded into one little cart. I was sitting with Daddy in the front and Edward was sitting with Mother in the back, and we were all excited. My family _loves_ speed.

"So, you're still the major Daddy's girl you've been since we were what, ten?" Rose asked, laying under her covers in her bed, catching site of my phone's wallpaper.

"Eight, technically," I said, grinning from my place in my own.

"Wait, you're almost sixteen," Bella said, confused. Of course she was. She didn't know my story, but I didn't mind telling it.

I looked at her and smiled. "I'm adopted, Bella."

She gaped, then blushed. "I'm sorry, I feel so-"

"No, it's okay," I laughed, smiling warmly. "It _is_ confusing at first. You'll get it soon enough, though. My parents sent me here when I was six. They thought I was psycho because I'd get weird little feelings that they -being southern fundamentalists- thought were psychic visions, and that I was the embodiment of the devil." Think _Carolina Moon. _But I didn't say that out loud."I was just…a burden."

"Edward and I became fast friends. We were like brother and sister from the beginning. When I got older, they got meaner, and Edward was there for me. The summer between second and third grade, age eight, he'd call me everyday to check on me. Make sure my parents weren't being too mean. One day Daddy and Mother -Carlisle and Esme then- heard him consoling me when I was crying. They'd…" I struggled over the hard part. "…they'd locked me in the closet for five hours, and I'd managed to get out and call him.

"They called protective services, then fought like hell to get custody of me, and they'd never even met me. I'd never felt so loved and cherished. The night before the adoption was officially finalized -the summer before I turned ten- they heard me crying in my sleep in the bottom bunk of Edward's bunk bed. They came in and consoled me and held me like I was their flesh and blood. Edward, too. They've been my family ever since."

I realized I had tears in my eyes, as did Bella and Rose. "But that was so long ago, I barely remember my old life." Lie. "I'm totally fine now." Lie. "I love my life now." Not a lie.

Rose reached over the small space and we clasped hands in the middle. "I've missed you, Ali-Cat."

Bella sniffled. "Why'd you tell me that? I appreciate the honesty, but you don't even know me."

I smiled over at my new friend. "Like I said, I get weird feelings. I know we're all going to be close friends."

She smiled back and wiped her eyes.

That night, long after Rose and Bella fell asleep, I texted Edward.

_**I can't sleep.  
LilMissInsomniac**_

He replied almost instantly. He knew my insomnia was no joke, despite my signature.

_**Do you need me to sneak up?  
EAC**_

I didn't know if this was a good idea. Our previous advisors knew it was okay for him to sneak in, but we had new ones this year.

_**I don't think that's a good idea. Tomorrow we'll talk to Carlos and Fantasia about that. They seem pretty strict on the rules, though.**_

He took a little longer to reply.

_**Well we'll figure something out, sis. Past, present, or future? **_

I knew he meant what was keeping me awake. It was generally known in my family that I was kept awake by one of those three things.

_**Past. I can't get it out of my head. I feel claustrophobic. **_

About two minutes later, there was a light knock on my door.

I sprung from my bed and rushed to open it. "Ed! You're gonna get it trouble!"

"It's okay," he said, wrapping me into a hug, pulling me out into the hallway, in front of the security cameras. I guessed it was so they wouldn't think we were up to anything in my room (again, _ew. _Adopted or not, Ed was my brother). "You need fresh air."

I nodded into his chest, inhaling the scent that was my brother and my best friend. "That should help. I didn't realize I forgot my inhaler back home. When I reached onto my bedside table I almost knocked Rose's backup glasses off."

"Well have Mom and Dad mail it ASAP."

"Okay."

After a while in my brother's arms, I felt better, and sleepy. At least class didn't start for another week, so I could sleep in the next day. "Night, Edward."

"Night, Alice," he said, kissing my forehead softly and releasing me. "Love you, baby sister."

"Love you, too, big brother."

**A/N: Reviews? This is gonna be kinda dramatic, because all I seem to be able to write lately is angst and drama. **

**~Sidney**


	2. Roommates

**Well, I had this written, so I figured I should post it. Reviews?**

"Edward, would you care to explain why you were on the girls' floor at two in the morning, hugging Alice?" Carlos asked, looking over his desk at us. If he bothered to learn our last names…

We'd been called to the dorm advisors' office midmorning, after they got the footage from the security cameras.

"I was consoling my sister. She has anxiety, claustrophobia, and insomnia." Way to air our dirty laundry, Eddie-boy…

Fantasia turned a little red. "Well, I'm sorry, I had no idea you were siblings, mister and miss…"

"Cullen," Edward and I supplied together, then started laughing.

"I assumed it would be best to be straightforward with you. No one else needs to know, but as our advisors, our parents find it necessary to let you know that there will be times that we have to visit one another's room that late. I'm the only one who can really help her when she gets like this, other than our parents, who are obviously not here." My brother, the natural born business man. I feared the day he learned he could use that demeanor to control whatever poor girl into being perfectly behaved arm candy. I sincerely hoped he inherited our father's gentlemanly personality with age. Then again, Rosalie _was_ a bit of a head-case…

Fantasia made some notes on her computer. "There. You have a permanent pass in Rowan hall to visit one another at night, but only in the halls. You _do_ have roommates."

"Understandable," I said politely, taking a leaf out of Edward's book. I batted my eyelashes and pretended to be the pathetic twelve year old I looked like.

Said brother shot me a smirk, presumably reading my mind.

"Oh, I feel awful now," Carlos said, looking on his own computer. "I got an E-mail yesterday from your advisors from last year explaining the situation. I just found it. I'm so sorry about the misunderstanding."

"It's quite alright," Edward said, his diplomatic business-man skills turning right back on. "We meant to inform you as soon as we could anyway. Now if we may be excused, we were going to have lunch with some old friends."

The advisors let us out, and we made it as far as the front lawn before we fell into the grass laughing. With Edward's talking skills and my tiny-chick-cute-factor, we were unstoppable.

"Hey, Cullen, what's so funny?" someone asked in a loud, deep voice. "And why are you rolling around in the grass with the stranger-girl?"

A large pair of feet were in front of my face, and I was suddenly glad that I'd worn jeans and a crew-neck, because I were to wear the cute lacy blouse and white-denim mini I had originally picked out, I knew that when I rolled over, I knew my shirt would be around my waist and my polka-dot granny panties would have made an unwelcome appearance. Despite my nearly-prepubescent physique, I actually had a figure of sorts (no matter how small said figure _was_), and granny panties are just _so_ easy to pick on.

Edward stood up and dusted himself off, then hauled me up onto my feet unceremoniously and helped me dust off as well. Brother dearest, always taking care of me. "This is Alice, my sister."

I looked up, and up, and up, and finally met the deep brown eyes of the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. "You're tall!" _Mary Alice Cullen, you are the stupidest, most ridiculous person I've ever met! Tall? You say 'you're tall'! Stupid, stupid, stupid. You're so lucky he's staring at you like that. He probably likes you. Don't screw up! _

The voice in my head sounded so much like Rosalie Hale that I nearly turned my head to look for her. Creepy voices in my head… No wonder my birth parents hated me. No, I'm not allowed to think that.

To my luck -no surprise, though, because of the creepy Rose voice- the man cracked a grin, and I realized he wasn't a man at all, but probably no older than me. He even had one of those Silly Band things on his wrist (which I noticed when he offered a hand to shake). "You're short. Edward, you said she was tiny, not a freaking porcelain doll."

My brother laughed. "Sorry, I'm used to it I guess. Alice, this is Emmett."

_Emmett_. Hmmm… It was fitting, in a weird way. Emmett was a fierce name. A 'look at me' name. And boy was I looking. The guy was freaking _huge_. He had to be over a foot taller than me, and he simply oozed masculinity.

"I'm Edward's roommate, or one of them," he said, grinning at me, still. "I was just kidding about the doll thing."

"And I was just…not thinking about the tall thing?" I couldn't decide what I was kidding about. My brain was officially fuzzed over.

Edward -looking very uncomfortably at Emmett's and my conjoined hands- broke the little moment I was having in my romance-novel mind. "Where are Rose and the new girl? Weren't they meeting us and my other roommate for lunch?"

"Yeah," I said slowly, pulling my hand from Emmett's. "I'll shoot a text."

In about ten minutes, six of us were crowded into a booth at a little diner on campus. After introductions, we ordered enough to feed an army, then proceeded to laugh and be teenagers, just getting to know one another and quickly realizing we'd be good friends.

"Bella and I go way back," Jasper (Edward's other roommate) said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "We went to summer camp in the desert together for about six years."

I cringed. Desert hair was not attractive. "Ew…"

"What do you do during your summers?" Bella said, looking skeptical.

"Our parents pick a place to go every year, and we spend two weeks wherever that is," Edward supplied. "This year we were in Orlando for the first time since we were ten." What he didn't add was the time we were ten was a celebration of my official adoption anniversary, and I got to pick where we went the one year mark of our family-hood. I took it his roommates didn't know our family history yet, and it was his business to tell his friends, so I didn't say anything.

"So are you twins?" Emmett asked Edward and I, looking from one of us to another. "Because you look nothing alike. Or did one of you get held back or something."

This was going to be an interesting lunch….

"Ah, neither. It's a long story," Edward said nonchalantly. "We don't have enough time to explain it."

"Long story?" Jasper asked, quirking an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "Well it's not short."

"Hey, Jazz, could you help me put my stuff up later," Bella asked, effectively distracting him. "We're allowed to be in each others' rooms until eight, right? I think that's what I read in the handbook."

"Nine for upperclassmen," Edward said, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back, his actions practically screaming 'upperclassman and proud of it'.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "That makes no sense, though. You'd think the older ones would be less trustworthy in a room of the opposite sex."

"Cameras, dear," I said, patting her hand. "They see everything."

Edward caught my eye and we started laughing again.

"Dude, again?" Emmett asked, looking incredulous. "When I met Alice those two were rolling around in the grass laughing their asses off, and they wouldn't tell me why!"

I rolled my eyes and gave in (kinda). "The dorm advisors didn't know we were siblings, and it was funny. It'll make sense later, I assure you."

"Yeah," Edward agreed. "It takes a while to pick up on how things work with us."

"You're telling me," Rose muttered, making a face at my brother. "Five years I've known you two and I still get lost when you two start your freaky brother-sister language."

Edward and I laughed and Rose's expense, but it was true. Each and every one of Edward's and my looks and laughs meant something, and usually only we knew what it meant. He read my mind, I automatically knew his probable response. Rose huffed at the two of us and took a dainty bite of a French fry.

I looked to my left at Emmett. "So where are you from? You're knew this year, right?"

"Kind of," he said through a mouthful of burger. He swallowed before continuing. "I'm from Tennessee, but I've always been shipped off to boarding schools and summer camps. I'm a military brat, and since 9/11 my parents have been working a lot with international affairs. We have our Christmas and Birthday celebrations when they get home from tours, but they never really stay home for long. I think they like the danger. I attended the last month of last year, then the summer session."

"Military brat?" Bella said, looking amused. "No way! My dad's in the reserves and Jazz's mom is in the Navy. Dad's a cop now in Forks, my hometown."

"Whoa, government babies," Rose said, making me laugh.

"Wow, Rosie," I said, giving her a shove. "That's kinda cool. And isn't your dad assistant for the mayor?"

She made a face. "Bank president. And that doesn't count. He's convinced I'm going to breed with that arrogant, narcissistic _ass_ son of his boss. I'm more into down-to-earth guys, anyway. Money doesn't matter as long as he's got some brain function more than 'ooh something shiny!'."

"Down-to-earth?" Edward asked, snorting. "You? Well, you need someone to deflate your head every once in a while." Ouch, bro. He glanced over at me like I'd said that out loud, a look of panic fleeting across his face. I knew, for a fact, that those two had been silently pining for one another for three years. It was kinda sad, and kinda mean of me to never say a thing, but it was too damn funny watching them attempt -and fail- at catching one another. Yeah, I'm awful. "I totally didn't mean it that way."

"And what way _did_ you mean it, you smartass?" Rose asked, fuming. She hated being called out.

Damn, now Alice has to do damage control. "You know Edward. He can't help but act like a dork."

She crossed her arms and sat back, not saying a word for the rest of lunch. In the meantime, I talked to Emmett while Edward attempted to un-irritate Rose and talk to Bella and Jasper at the same time.

"So you're a southerner?" I asked, him elbowing him lightly.

He shrugged. "I guess, technically. Mom's from Alabama and Dad's from New Mexico. They met in military school somewhere between the two. They were in Tennessee when they got married and had me."

I wanted to tell him I was from Mississippi, that we had something in common, but that would mean telling him more, and for some strange reason I wasn't picking up any vibes from him, positive or negative. "That's cool. I guess that explains the no-accent thing."

He laughed a bit. "My mom has a pretty strong accent at home, but it tends to fade when she's talking to someone from out west or up north. It's kinda funny, actually. She goes from hick to society woman in a few seconds."

"That sounds…" I couldn't think of a word, then my stupid mouth supplied one. "Insane."

He full-on belly-laughed at that one. "It totally is! It drives me nuts! It sounds so fake, and she just rolls her eyes when I tell her that."

"My mom rolls her eyes when I tell her I need new shoes."

Edward leaned over the table and said, rather loudly, "The shoe makers roll their eyes when you say you need new shoes."

Rosalie finally responded to something he said, laughing. She did, however, ignore him and jump straight to me. "I'd complain, but you have the best shoes I've ever seen and we wear the same shoes sizes. Bella does, too."

"No, Rosalie, you _cannot_ dress me!" Bella interjected, glaring. "All summer it was 'don't you like blue this or red that'? I like jeans and T-shirts."

I grinned maliciously. "You'll give in. I have my ways."

Bella looked disturbed at that.

Suddenly, the loudspeakers all over campus went off. "_Remember class meetings are scheduled for tomorrow. Freshmen class, 10 am; Sophomore class, 10:45 am; Juniors, 11:30; Seniors, 12:15. Seniors, remember to dress semi-formally for the Alumni luncheon immediately following the class meeting. Thank you." _

"Oh, fun," I said sarcastically. "Class meetings where we decide how we'll earn money for our homecoming floats and class dances. Lovely. At least we have the class president on our side."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You don't mean-"

"Class president, at your service," Edward said, grinning at her. "And my vice president, Mary Alice Cullen."

I forgot about that. He got to choose his running mate, and I can't exactly pitch a hissy-fit at a school assembly when my brother announces he chose me. He swore I wouldn't have to do much, but it didn't mean I was thrilled about the title. "Damn it, Edward! That's still not fair. I didn't even want to be at that stupid assembly."

"It was you or-" he shuddered, "-Jessica Stanley. That girl's some kind of freaky stalker."

Rosalie made a face. I was sure she remembered the girl's obsession with my brother. A major part of it was that whatever Rose got, Jessica wanted, so when Rose and I became such good friends, Jessica felt that Rose had a free invitation to Club Ed, and therefore began her creepy stalking ways. "I just hope she doesn't try anything with me again. Did her eyebrows ever grow back right after the lock-in at the end of seventh grade?"

I smiled at the memory. Two ultra-sticky waxing strips can do a lot of damage, and Jessica had attended the end of year banquet with penciled on eyebrows that were about three shades darker than the hair on her head. Our grade was never allowed to have a lock in again, and Rose and I were never caught. "Good times. Never piss Rosie or me off," I said, winking at Bella. "You'll never be the same again."

"No scaring strangers, Al," Edward said in a mock-warning tone. "C'mon, let's pay and get out of here. There's a group of sixth graders headed this way." He pointed out the window at a bunch of kids, arms looped together and looking amusingly like a bunch of Wizard of Oz clones.

We paid for our food and made our way out. Jasper and Bella went back to our room to unpack Bella's things, Edward went to the music department to visit his piano teacher (to which Rose volunteered to go as well), and Emmett and I were thrown together unceremoniously, left to our own disposal.

"Well, looks like it's just you and me," Emmett said, looking around uncomfortably. "What's there to do around here? All I did all summer was eat, sleep, work out, and go to class."

"Well, we can walk around campus," I said with a grand sweep of my arm. "We can find something to do eventually."

Emmett shrugged one shoulder. Damn, I wasn't even interesting enough for both shoulders. "Let's go. M'lady?" And the good fortune's back.

He offered an arm to me, which I took as we began our walk.


	3. Reunited

**This is where it gets into the different POVs. While this is an Emmett/Alice, I got a bit carried away with Rosalie's POV, and now I'm considering writing a story all about her. Thoughts? Well, I don't own anything you recognize, and please review!**

**Alice's POV**

The walk Emmett and I went on was highly uneventful. We walked all over campus, then gave up on finding something to do. We ended up sitting in the commons area of Rowan Hall, watching reruns of _The Nanny_ on TV Land. What a lovely way to start a friendship (though if I had my way, trust me, we'd be more than friends. Call it a woman's intuition, but I just got a vibe from Emmett that made me drawn to him, and it didn't hurt that he was totally gorgeous). After the third episode in a row, we decided to go upstairs and see if Bella and Jasper were done unpacking yet. What we found, though, made our afternoon.

Jasper and Bella sat on the edge of Bella's bed, kissing lightly. They jerked apart when they saw Emmett and I, grinning like idiots at the spectacle.

"Not that it's any of your business, but we actually _did_ unpack," Jasper said smoothly, unperturbed that we ruined his make-out session. "We just found a better way to pass the time. It's been a while since we had alone time."

Bella blushed and smacked his chest lightly. "Jasper! What he means is that we haven't seen each other in a while, and we had a lot to catch up on. Damn, that came out wrong… Well, you know what I mean."

I giggled nervously. "Well… We'll leave you two to it, I guess. C'mon, Emmett, let's go…somewhere else."

**Bella's POV**

He was actually here. The guy I'd been pining for since I figured out what dating was. And kissing. And other stuff. (Dirty minded people, I meant feelings!)

"Bella," Jasper said softly, grinning at me. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too," I said, grinning back.

We were currently putting my clothing up and talking. About things. Things we'd been talking about since we were twelve. Things we couldn't act on before. Things we'd felt for one another, and things we agreed couldn't be acted on until we had established a solid foundation and pattern to our relationship.

"Do you still like me?" Jasper asked, looking at me with that deep, brooding, hungry look that made my insides turn to mush. "You _do_ still like me, right? I still like you. A lot…"

"I've always liked you," I said passively, shoving a bunch of my 'unmentionables' into one of my personal drawers.

Jasper was suddenly right behind me, all but breathing down my neck. "You know what I mean. Do you still like me in that specific way that I like you?" His voice was airy, and his hands rested on my hips. "That way you said you liked me when you kissed me last summer, the night before we had to go home, the night of the end-of-summer party."

I shoved the drawer closed and turned around to look Jasper in the eye. "I've _always_ liked you."

His lips were on me before I was prepared, devouring my own. He didn't give me time to properly respond, and I didn't care. Jasper and I were emotional beings, and we could have a conversation with no words. Our actions and expressions spoke for themselves, and right now, his actions were screaming at me. When he pulled back -quite abruptly- we shared a small smile.

"Sorry. I've wanted to do that since I saw you this afternoon. I've thought about you a lot," Jasper said, winding his arms around me and pulling me close.

I giggled. "I've wanted you to do that since I met you."

Jasper led us to my bed, where we sat down -still in our embrace- and shared auras. "Well, we have some time to make up for, don't we?"

We kissed and kissed and kissed and kissed…

It was a long time before we had any distractions, and when those distractions appeared in the form of a few of our roommates, Jasper got rid of them. We made up for lost time and more with simple touches of our lips, and that was all that needed to be done. We'd passed formalities, we'd kept in touch through E-mail, and we'd gone a sufficient time before 'getting a room', per se.

This year was going to be awesome.

**Rosalie's POV**

Edward was oblivious. As always.

"Ed, what do you think?" I asked, twirling a bit. "I've grown six inches since seventh grade. You don't think I'm too tall, do you?"

He didn't even give me a glance. "Of course not. You're shorter than me."

"You're five ten, though, aren't you? Something like that, anyway."

"Eh, six feet," he said, getting distracted by the pictures on the wall. "Hey, do you remember this?"

He was pointing to a picture of us (well, us and a few different people) onstage for the big concert at the end of sixth grade. Edward and I were posing at the piano. He sat on the bench while I lay across the top like a model, holding my bejeweled microphone delicately in my fingers. Several others were posed with their instruments and props, but at the moment, I felt like the star of the show, and I totally owned the picture in my bejeweled cocktail dress (or as close to a cocktail dress as they'd allow a twelve year old to wear, no matter how mature she looked).

"I remember," I said, grinning. "Wow, we were so little."

"You had braces."

Damn it. Of course he remembers the single physical flaw I've ever had.

"And a lisp."

He wanted to be slapped.

"It was cute."

Then again… "Cute? Well, maybe then. Now it's just a bad memory of the single physical flaw I've ever had."

Edward chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You're too worried about your looks."

I scoffed. "Well, excuse me! People don't exactly find my personality endearing."

Another eye-roll from Edward.

"You do know you're eyes are gonna get stuck like that one day; then no one but Psycho Stanley will want you," I said, crossing my arms and drifting over to the baby grand in the center of the room; the same baby grand where the picture was taken. "And you won't be able to read music."

Edward followed me and slid onto the bench, stretched his fingers, then began a series of complicated chords and rhythms. "I think I could pull a Ray Charles. I've got the talent."

I found my own eyes rolling. "You say _I'm _narcissistic."

He began to play something familiar. "You _are_ narcissistic, Rosie. You always have been. It's your shield against the rest of the world. You're beautiful and you know it, so you use that knowledge to intimidate and control others."

"Psychology much?" Not that he was wrong. I used my beauty to get what I wanted. I always had. Except the one thing I wanted most in the world…

"I know you and I know how and why you do the things you do," he said simply, playing a little louder. "Like how I know Alice and how I'm able to help her when she gets scared and upset."

And cue groan. Being compared to his _sister_? He was the most oblivious person I'd ever met. "Edward, you know it's a really bad idea to compare girls that aren't your sister to your sister, right? Some girls would take that the wrong way."

"Well, what if I wanted them to take it as 'I think of you as a sister'?" he asked, looking perturbed.

"They'd be pissed off if they thought of you as more than a brother, _that_'_s _for sure." I knew the feeling. I also knew the feeling of having my heart broken time and time again, and no one even realizing it, just like right now.

My infatuation with Edward Cullen had begun as an innocent crush, but escalated to a point of no return. He was the object of my fantasies and dreams. He was something more than my best friend's brother; he was my perfect match. If only he knew…

"Rose, do you still sing?" His perfection was annoying. He remembered such a small, hidden detail about me. "I know you did the stuff in choir in middle school, but have you sung anymore since?"

"To my shower head."

He began to play even louder still.

"What the heck are you even-" I began to round on him, then I recognized the tune. "Oh my gosh…"

He grinned. "I remember that you liked this song. Do you still?"

I nodded, mouthing the words, unable to make a sound anymore. _I don't mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile and ask her if she wants to stay a while. _The song was what I always imagined my prince charming would sing to me. I felt like a reflection of the broken girl he sang about, everyday of my life. "I love it."

"I don't really see why," Edward said contemplatively. "It's a bit depressing, if you ask me."

"His perfect match is a woman who hides behind a façade. He wants to reveal her true brokenness and make her feel the love she deserves."

Edward continued playing, oblivious to the tears building in my eyes. "Why would he? If she can't be honest enough to show her simplest emotion, how the hell is she supposed to be this 'perfect match' for the guy? He wouldn't be able to trust her. He'd always be wondering about the slightest changes in her expression."

"Poetic justice," I said simply.

"How is _that_ poetic justice?"

I took a shaky breath before turning away and beginning to drift to the exit. "The beautiful people are the ones who hide the dirty little secrets when no one wants to look past the smiles on their faces."

"There's a difference between dirty little secrets and hiding how you feel just to find the one who's worth showing your emotions."

"It's not about finding the one who's worth showing your emotions; it's about having someone care enough to dig deeper. He wants to be that person for some lucky girl."

Edward continued playing and dwelled on this. "Well, I think he needs to think about himself a little. If he doesn't do anything but worry about some girl he's not going to be able to be himself, and all he's gonna do is waste his time."

"Well what if he wants to worry about this girl?"

"Then he's absurd." And my heart broke. Of course he didn't think about love the same way I did. He'd always been loved, all his life.

I turned and glared at the still oblivious boy then snapped, "No, he's really not."

I didn't give him a chance to respond before I turned and breezed out of the music department. I had no target, but I just needed to find somewhere to hide before the tears spilt over. _As always_.

**A/N: Review, please, and hopefully I'll have a post within the next few weeks, but no sooner than next Monday, sorry. **

**~Sidney**


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